The compound of the present invention, 2-pentanoylaminoacetic acid, is known for several years.
The publication of J. Katz et al., [C.A., 47, 3927i (1953); J. Biol. Chem., 200, 431-441 (1953)] describes the preparation of compound I.
In the form of its methyl ester, compound (I) has been isolated from cattle urine, and its structure has been confirmed by synthesis [S. Rikisaku et al., C.A. 81, 102,235v (1974); Agr. Biol. Chem., 38, 885-6 (1974)]. Other publications describe the synthesis of several acylglycines amongst which compound I, and the analysis of a mixture of these acylglycine derivatives by gaschromatography-mass spectroscopy techniques, e.g. H. S. Ramsdell et al., J. Chromatogr., 181, 90-94 (1980); S. S. Tjoa et al., Clin. Chim. Acta, 95, 35-45 (1979).
However no biological activity of 2-pentanoylaminoacetic acid has been disclosed so far.